


Let Me In Your Heart (Again)

by Anonymous



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Domestic Fluff, Early Queen (Band), Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Nightmares, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:55:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27084475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Brian sighs mournfully, thinking of how the past few weeks have been taking a toll on all of them. Between keeping up with their grades, getting more gigs for the band, and trying to maintain any semblance of financial stability, they have been much more stressed and exhausted that he thinks it’s a miracle for them to be able to survive.(Or, the boys take care of each other when they're at their most vulnerable.)
Relationships: John Deacon & Brian May & Freddie Mercury & Roger Taylor, John Deacon/Brian May/Freddie Mercury/Roger Taylor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29
Collections: Anonymous





	Let Me In Your Heart (Again)

**Author's Note:**

> A slice of life during the early days. Pre-Poly!Queen.

Brian arrives at their flat a few hours late from schedule.

He knows it must be well past 2 AM now – all the little delays from his trip piling into this late hour – but luckily he had told the boys not to wait up for him. He unlocks the front door gently and drags his suitcase as quietly as possible. As he closes the door behind him, his eyes adjust to the darkness of the living room and immediately notices two things.

One, Freddie and Roger are snuggled up there on the sofa under a huge blanket – the thick, ugly thing that Roger’s mother forced to take home with them. Two, while Roger is fast asleep in his arms, Freddie is wide awake, sending Brian a small smile.

“Freddie?” Brian whispers.

“Brimi,” Freddie whispers back from where he is pinned under Roger on the sofa. “You’re home so late!”

“The train was late, then the bus was late,” Brian grumbles as he gets out of his shoes and jacket. “Why are you two sleeping out here?”

Freddie’s smile turns sad then, eyes glancing at the blonde in his arms. “He was having nightmares.”

Nightmare is an understatement – Roger screamed himself awake before it turned into heavy sobbing. Both Freddie and John were startled awake from their shared room, but Freddie had insisted that John went back to bed because he had to be up earliest for his exam. Freddie stayed up with Roger since then, losing track of time, gently rocking him back to sleep.

But Brian doesn’t need that weight in his mind, Freddie decides, so he doesn’t tell him all of that.

Brian feels his heart drop and reaches out to both of them, kneeling by the sofa. When Roger has nightmares, he needs to be out of his bed and his room and then, with luck, he can relax enough to sleep. Brian hates himself for not being there – has Roger been going through this the whole week, alone in their room while Brian’s away?

“And you?” Brian turns to Freddie, noting the lines of exhaustion on his face and dark bags under his eyes. “How long have you been up?”

“A few hours on and off. He didn’t sleep easy,” Freddie sighs, keeping his voice low. “But don’t worry about it, Dear. How was your trip? Seen any shooting stars or supernovas?”

Brian smiles at the attempt. Freddie does that a lot, putting on a smile and a brave face to cover up his own pain and misery. Brian reaches up to Freddie’s sleep-disheveled hair, thumb rubbing softly at the creases on his forehead – a way of telling Freddie that he _knows_. He doesn’t miss Freddie’s sigh of relief at the touch.

“Nah, it was pretty boring by myself,” Brian murmurs, continuing his ministrations until the lines smooth out a little. “You should go to bed. Give me five minutes and I’ll stay here with Rog.”

“Darling, you just got home, you must be tired,” Freddie reasons, knowing Brian won’t sleep much in case Roger wakes up again.

“I slept nearly the entire ride here,” Brian says – it wasn’t the most comfortable sleep, but it’s not like he expects his insomnia to suddenly get that memo tonight – as he heads to the bathroom to wash up and brush his teeth. “You’ve got class tomorrow, Fred.”

He hears Freddie sigh. “Yeah.”

As promised, Brian reappears in five minutes and freshly changed. “Here, I’ll help you up.”

Together, they gently maneuver with Roger between them, careful not to wake him, to give enough space for Freddie to slip out and for Brian to take his place. Freddie rearranges the pillows to be comfortable for Brian and wraps them both in the blanket.

“Have you eaten?” Freddie asks suddenly, as if only just remembering. “I can heat something up if you want.”

“Had dinner on the way,” Brian says, not mentioning that it was a small meal that wasn’t nearly enough for the few extra hours of his extended journey. Still, it would be ridiculous of him to keep Freddie up a minute longer at this hour. “Go to bed, Freddie.”

“Alright then,” Freddie finally agrees and rubs Brian’s shoulder gently, his touch lingering affectionately. “Goodnight, Love.”

“Night, Freddie.”

Brian listens as Freddie’s footsteps fade away into his and John's room, the door shutting with a soft click.

He sighs mournfully, thinking of how the past few weeks have been taking a toll on all of them. Between keeping up with their grades, getting more gigs for the band, and trying to maintain any semblance of financial stability, they have been much more stressed and exhausted that he thinks it’s a miracle for them to be able to survive.

Roger stirs in his arms and sighs, a slight frown on his face. Brian holds him a little tighter, hoping he doesn’t wake up. Roger moves to bury his face in Brian’s neck with another sigh, instinctively chasing the warmth, much like he did with Freddie.

“Shh,” Brian whispers into his hair, gently rubbing his back to soothe him.

It only takes a few moments longer before Roger relaxes in his hold and Brian allows himself to drift off to sleep.

Roger wakes up in the early morning to a comforting, enveloping warmth.

He opens his eyes, and when he realizes that he is in the living room instead of his bedroom, the memories of last night comes back to him. He lifts up slowly, cursing himself for keeping Freddie up, only to find the person sleeping soundly wrapped around him is Brian.

Roger looks at him in fond exasperation as he works out what had happened. Of course Brian would offer to switch places with Freddie, even after coming in late from his trip, knowing he would fare better than Freddie if he had to stay up with Roger because of his own bouts of insomnia. It must have made sense, in Brian’s head, not counting that he has to sacrifice his own hours of sleep.

He starts to remove himself from the sofa carefully and wraps the blanket around Brian, shielding him from the cold morning breeze. It is then when he feels that Brian’s skin is _far_ too warm, possibly the sign of the start of a fever. Roger sighs and bends down to press a gentle kiss into the mess of curls. He’ll have to tell John – the only person in the flat that Brian actually listens to when it comes to logical reasoning.

“Hey,” John says as Roger walks into the kitchen, following the smell of fried eggs.

“Morning,” Roger returns with a lopsided grin. “That for me?”

John hums. “Since I’m feeling generous…” he teases, pushing the plate of toast and eggs to Roger who starts to happily devour it. John watches him with a soft smile as he munches into his own portion of breakfast, his expression turning serious. He knows Roger doesn't like to talk about his nightmares, but he has to ask. “Are you alright?”

“I’m alright,” Roger reassures him with gentle eyes. He still can’t remember what on earth he was even dreaming about, he only remembers a bone-deep feeling of anxiety and grief. He feels much better now, though, because the feeling has nearly completely faded and doesn’t make him feel like physically crumbling. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sorry I didn’t stay up with you,” John says softly. “You shouldn’t have to be up this early, I’m the one with an early schedule today.”

“I’m already feeling better, Deaks,” Roger murmurs to him. “Brian has a bit of fever, though. I think he’s burning up.”

“What?” John says with slight anxiety, eyes already wandering to the living room. “What time did he come in last night?”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t awake,” Roger sighs with guilt as he carries their dirty dishes to the sink. “I just felt he was too warm when I woke up.”

John is already making his way to the living room, carefully pressing his palm to Brian’s forehead. Sure enough, the heat radiating off him is a little alarming. John hopes it’s nothing serious because they’re quite familiar with Brian’s system by now – he could get fever from only going a little beyond his own limits of exhaustion.

John brushes the sweaty curls away from his forehead, looking at the clock with a hint of worry just as Roger comes in. “I have time to make soup,” John murmurs to Roger. “Lemon and honey too if he has sore throat.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re gonna be late,” Roger whispers. “I can make that. What else?”

“Just make sure he doesn’t go out in this stupid weather, tell him I said so,” John sighs. He gathers his bag and his coat, glancing at Brian’s suitcase near the front door that didn’t even make it into his room. “He’s probably just too tired, you know how he gets.”

“Yeah.”

John stares at Roger and Brian forlornly, as if reluctant to leave them. He knows there is no way Roger has fully recovered from last night, Freddie probably won’t have enough sleep, and now Brian has taken ill to complete their package of misery.

When John doesn’t move, Roger does with a sigh – pulling John into his coat, zips him up, and then into a warm hug. John returns it instinctively, arms wrapped around his waist, before the tension seeps out of his body and he melts into Roger.

“You worry too much, Deaks,” Roger murmurs into his ear, squeezing him protectively, wishing he could take all his anxiety away. “I promise we’ll be fine. You go and beat the shit out of that exam, okay?”

“Okay,” John snorts from where his face his nuzzled in Roger’s shoulder before finally pulling away. “Don’t forget to wake Freddie if he doesn’t come out in half an hour. I put his alarm on but just in case…”

“I will,” Roger reassures him with a smile. “Now go, you’re really gonna be late.”

Roger wishes him luck and John finally goes, leaving Roger to take care of the other two.

He makes sure that Brian is still asleep before making his way to the kitchen, working as quietly as possible to not wake him. He’s not the best chef in the world but he knows enough to decently cook for his best friends – they’re the reason he taught himself in the first place after all – which will be something generous and energizing for Freddie and something easy on the stomach for Brian.

Dreams of grief and anxiety forgotten, Roger falls into the comforting intimacy of their home.


End file.
